Haley Lu Richardson and Jennifer Coolidge Had Unhinged Nicknames for Each Other on 'The White Lotus' Set

Haley Lu Richardson has a lot going on right now. Her science-fiction comedy, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, is in theaters currently. The Prime Video series, PONIES, she co-leads with Emilia Clarke debuted in January and has a stunning 96 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Richardson also co-produced the indie film, zi, directed by Kogonada, which premiered at Sundance. Oh, and did I mention she also wrote a poetry book, I'm Sad and Horny?

I recently caught up with the actress to talk about all these things, plus her partnership with Sheba and her adorable cat, Darbin, in the brand's new IGNORED TO ADORED Campaign. (For the record, Darbin gives it 10/10 paws, or in Richardson's words, "ignoring me less and adoring me more.") But I also couldn't resist asking Richardson about her stint on The White Lotus season two, where she played Portia, assistant to Tanya McQuoid (AKA Jennifer Coolidge).

As for her current projects, they couldn't be more different. I'm Sad and Horny is the actress' debut book that explores the complexities that are your 20s. She calls it the "most meaningful thing I've ever made in my life," adding, "I've never followed through with something creatively that really came from me and that was mine to give. As an actor, I'm always a piece of someone else's vision. That's a beautiful thing, to learn how to fit into that and collaborate and find the personal connection and growth within that bigger thing. But I'm Sad and Horny was really me and my experience in [the way I wanted to express it]. It was the most freeing thing I've ever done."

Then there are all the acting projects, which are microcosms in themselves. In PONIES, Richardson is the brash, buccaneering Twila Hasbeck to Emilia Clarke's cautious, by-the-book Bea Grant. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die throws the actress into an ensemble cast that must save the world from AI gone rogue. And then there's the indie, zi, which marks her third collaboration with filmmaker Kogonada.

When asked about how she chooses her characters and scripts, Richardson tells me, "I want to be challenged and [to] dig deeper [into] emotions, empathy—the understanding of how we're all connected as humans and our different experiences. If a character or project gives me a chance to work through something that I wouldn't normally know about myself in my regular life, those are factors [that spark something in me when I get] an opportunity to do a new project."

With Twila, Richardson says she felt there were a lot of "intriguing personal parallels for me and where I'm at in my life." The character, broken by sudden widowhood and the realization that maybe she didn't know her husband—or herself—as well as she thought—is searching for her place in the world. She's trying to figure out who she can be in the world she inhabits.

"I've never felt so seen by a character," Richardson says. "I was so excited for the kind of therapeutic, cathartic, freeing journey that I could have playing her."

While PONIES had a successful debut season, a second one isn't guaranteed (to this writer's chagrin). However, the show's creators, Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, confirmed that they are planning future storylines. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Richardson says she's sitting in the unknown—but that it doesn't scare her as much as it used to.

"All we can do is be present and trust our instincts and go where we're drawn and where there's space for us or try to make space, you know?" she says. "I'm excited. The unknown used to scare me. And it definitely still does scare me to an extent, but it's more beautiful and a relief for me these days."